Known online postage systems, such as Endicia™ Internet Postage, enable computer users to purchase U.S. postage and apply individual postage indicia to a wide spectrum of envelopes and labels using standard computer printers. These systems are based on the relatively new concept of Information Based Indicia (“IBI”), wherein information to uniquely identify a particular postage indicium, e.g., postage meter account number and meter piece count, is presented in barcode and/or human readable form on each mailpiece. These user-controlled systems have historically focused on producing complete mail pieces, i.e., these systems produce complete envelopes or labels, which contain the destination address, return address, the postage indicium, the date of mailing, the class mail, optional graphics and branding, and mail processing barcodes, e.g., POSTNET™ or Delivery Confirmation™.
Turning to FIG. 1, the computer environment in which a user may purchase online postage is shown. A user at a personal computer 11 a connects to a server computer 15 configured to enable the user to electronically purchase valid postage, typically via an Internet-type network 20. The user interacts with a software program, e.g., DAZzle™ by Envelope Manager™ Software, on the personal computer 11a, downloaded from the server computer 15 and/or installed on the personal computer 11a, that allows the user to manage postage purchases (e.g., by printing postage using a printer 11b attached to the personal computer 11a). Systems of purchasing, printing, and generating online postage are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,319,562 to Whitehouse, filed Aug. 22, 1991, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,005,945 to Whitehouse, filed Mar. 20, 1997, both of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.
Significantly, the United States Postal Service® (“USPS®”) published regulations have historically prohibited the positioning of text or graphics within a certain distance of the indicium area of mail pieces produced with the aforementioned IBI technology. The USPS® rationale has been that the indicium area of the mail piece should not suggest that the USPS® endorses other entities that might be represented by the text or graphics. That is, the indicium (or “stamp”) area should only present information relevant to the evidencing of US postage. An exception has been made for postage meter marks created by conventional mechanical postage meters. Provided that the text and/or graphic information has been explicitly approved by the USPS® or one of its authorized postage vendors, e.g., Pitney Bowes™, Neopost™, this information may be printed to the immediate left of the indicium area. The area adjacent to and to the left of the postage indicium area is officially referred to as the “ad-plate area.”
The improved security and revenue-protection characteristics of IBI (discussed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,319,562 and 6,005,945 referenced above)—coupled with successful customized postage stamp programs in countries such as Australia and Canada—have led the USPS® to consider other forms of IBI postage that resemble conventional postage stamps. For example, the USPS® has considered the concept of closely tying a color graphic image with the postage indicia to create a “customized stamp.” FIG. 2 shows an example customized postage stamp 100 that a user may purchase online using IBI technology. The postage stamp 100 generally includes an indicium area 120 having a machine readable signature, such as a barcode 130, that enables the mail delivery service to verify, among other things, that that the postage stamp 100 was validly purchased. Also included in the indicium area 120 is the value of the postage stamp, e.g., $0.37. In addition to the indicium area 120, the stamp 100 may further include one or more personalized photographic or graphic images 110 to be placed in close proximity to the indicium area 120. This stamp can be used in an independent fashion as valid US postage on any envelope or package and is roughly the size of officially published peel-and-stick stamps.
Because the postage stamp 100 is purchased in electronic form, functionally, the only restriction placed on the appearance of the stamp 100 is that identified by the postal authority, e.g., the USPS®. In other words, in addition to customizing the image 110, the software program may enable a user, which can be the individual purchasing the stamp or the individual managing the online postage system, to customize the shape, color, font, size, and layout in accordance with postal regulations. For example, the USPS® will permit the selection of complementary colors for the indicium area 120, or panel 120, behind the indicium IBI 130 barcode as well as the indicium-related text, e.g., “U.S. Postage,” “37,” piece count, vendor identification, and postage account indicator. An approved USPS® postage vendor, such as Endicia™ or Pitney Bowes™, will be responsible for creating the IBI barcode 130 for each stamp and reviewing all image content submitted for potential use in a stamp design.
The customer applying for the custom stamps will typically choose a photograph or graphic and upload this to a Web-based design platform. Alternatively, the user might open the image with specialized stamp design software running on a local PC. The image might also be selected from an array of “stock” images which have been pre-approved for use. This image will be cropped and framed to fit into the available space on the stamp.
The next user task is to select a complementary background color for the IBI panel 120. Virtually all computer/Web-based systems have a color selection dialog similar to that shown in FIG. 3, which shows a color palette 300 that allows the user to select from a set of discrete colors 310 or from a sliding scale of colors 320. These tools allow a color to be specified in a variety of ways. Users may select a “basic” color or define a custom color in terms of the Red, Green, and Blue intensities (“RGB”), where the intensities have a numerical range from 0 to 255. An alternate means to express the same color value is by the Hue, Saturation, and Luminosity values (“HSL”). These values range from 0 to 240. The average stamp designer will quickly appreciate that selecting a truly complimentary color using this type of dialog is quite difficult. The “basic” colors seldom provide a good match, and selecting a matching custom color can be frustrating for even the most artistically gifted person.
Accordingly, an improved system for establishing the colors of a customized stamp purchased online is desirable.